Hyundai sales rise 4% in November

MANILA, Philippines — The official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the country registered a four percent increase in sales in November from the previous month due to the positive performance of the passenger car (PC) and commercial vehicle (CV) segments.

Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) said in a statement it sold 2,981 units in November, higher than the 2,856 units sold in October. 

This was achieved as the PC sales grew 6.79 percent to 1,556 units in November from 1,457 units in October. 

CV sales also increased 50 percent to 60 units in November from 40 units in October. 

Light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales, meanwhile, went up slightly to 1,365 units in November from 1,359 units in October. 

Year-on-year, HARI’s total vehicle sales were still 13 percent lower from the 3,426 units sold in the same month a year ago.

For the January to November period, HARI’s total sales, were also down 6.94 percent to 30,599 units from 32,882 units last year. 

This, as sales of both the PC and LCV segments came in lower than the previous year. 

HARI’s PC sales slid 12.36 percent to 16,116 units as of end-November from 18,389 units in the same period a year ago. 

LCV sales also dipped 2.55 percent to 13,696 units in the 11-month period from 14,055 units last year. 

CV sales, meanwhile, jumped 79.68 percent to 787 units in the January to November period from the previous year’s 438 units.

While total sales as of end-November are lower compared to last year, HARI remains upbeat on surpassing the 3,000 sales mark in December. 

 “December is historically a good month for HARI due to increased consumer spending. Coupled with lower interest rates and inflation, we expect our sales to be further bolstered. Beyond these factors, our main drivers remain the quality, reliability, and ease of maintenance of Hyundai passenger cars and commercial vehicles,” HARI president and chief executive officer Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.

Amid government’s push to modernize the public transport sector, HARI expects demand for its CVs such as trucks and buses to grow in 2020.

With the anticipated increase in demand, HARI is planning to open more dealerships for CVs as well as PCs in 2020.

“Based on current market demand and the untapped potential in key growth areas, there is a need to further expand Hyundai’s presence to serve more customers while driving economic activity in local communities. We have several facilities in various stages of completion that will be opened throughout 2020. This supports our outlook that the automotive industry is set to come back strong next year,” Agudo said. 

HARI’s total sales slid six percent to 35,401 units in 2018 from 37,678 units in 2017 as higher taxes slapped on automobiles weakened demand for vehicles.